Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia was one of the stars of the college football season and a Heisman Trophy finalist before ultimately losing the award to Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza. While Mendoza went No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Las Vegas Raiders, Pavia ended up going undrafted. Why didn’t get selected, and what’s next?
Understanding Why Diego Pavia Went Undrafted
Pavia was the No. 13-ranked quarterbacks in PFSN’s NFL Draft HQ and he was projected to go undrafted, so this isn’t a huge surprise.
“His processing isn’t quite NFL-caliber, nor is his arm strength, and even his athleticism might not be as prevalent against NFL talent,” his PFSN scouting report read.
“Pavia has the desired mobility, toughness, and quick-game utility to function as an NFL backup, but his ceiling is likely capped beyond that.”
Pavia’s top-five traits are his toughness, creation capacity, arm elasticity, accuracy/precision, and decision-making. However, his lack of size is a huge concern and there are questions about how his game will translate to the next level.
Also, Pavia’s immaturity and rowdy family are red flags in the eyes of teams.
“The whole schtick gets old,” an NFC scouting director said about Pavia. “Little bit of Johnny Football – it’s more lore and college bulls*** than it is really true mystique or allure or whatever. I just don’t think he’s overly talented. He’ll bounce around on a couple teams, just because he’s competitive. I think he’s smart and he’ll learn it and all that stuff. But you’ve got a runaround, RPO, college quarterback with an average arm.”
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“He has fun off the field and hasn’t been secret about it. He’s got some brothers that he’s close with that can be around — they seem like a tight-knit group, and that’s one thing teams will be questioning, if he’ll be able to always make the right decisions to separate himself,” another scout added.
Pavia’s brothers Roel and Javier repeatedly drew law-enforcement attention at Vanderbilt’s games, and Pavia has made it clear that they aren’t going anywhere.
There are also concerns about Pavia’s willingness to serve as a backup in the NFL and the attention that he may generate. Similar concerns were raised about Shedeur Sanders and the circus that comes with him, which played a major role in him slipping to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“I don’t think he’s going to embrace being a backup,” said an AFC scouting director. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but he’s coming to take someone’s job and it’s going to be kind of an interesting dynamic wherever he goes. Because you know the fans are going to be calling for him wherever he goes. The brothers will be in the stands. During the interview process, most guys would [downplay it]. He embraces his brothers. ‘They’re coming with me. Those are my guys. They ain’t going anywhere.’”
Potential UDFA Landing Spots for Pavia
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens have cemented themselves as one of the gold standards for integrating mobile quarterbacks.
With Lamar Jackson entrenched as the starter, Baltimore’s offensive infrastructure is already centered around the integration of designed quarterback runs and run-pass options (RPOs), both elements with which Pavia is certainly familiar.
It’s also worth noting that Baltimore did not utilize a pick on a quarterback over the last three days.
Philadelphia Eagles
Unlike their fellow avian franchise, the Philadelphia Eagles did select a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft: Cole Payton in the fifth round. They, too, have an entrenched starter in the sturdy and sufficiently athletic Jalen Hurts, whose game is not predicated on attacking the middle of the field.
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Philadelphia subscribes to dependency on the pairing of running back Saquon Barkley and a sturdy offensive line to play the older-school, ball-control style of offense. Hurts is involved in said ground game, so Pavia’s addition would seemingly make sense.
Not that I am in any way comparing them as players, but there has been much speculation surrounding Philadelphia’s possible trading of reserve quarterback Tanner McKee. Perhaps that could enhance Pavia’s likelihood of a longer-term presence.
Chicago Bears
Generally, what teams covet or prioritize in a backup quarterback differs from the premiums they place on candidates for the starting job (naturally). But the theme remains the same here, as Chicago chose not to bolster its quarterback room in the draft.
Head coach Ben Johnson has established his identity as someone who constructs his offense behind heavy personnel: running and throwing out of 12- and 13-personnel, with a schematic play-action element.
That, too, is something Pavia is familiar with from his time at Vanderbilt, as well as emulating the improvisational style of play at Caleb Williams’ disposal. Pavia lacks viable NFL traits, but if there were a single system to extract his utmost potential, it would be Chicago’s.
